Swillbrook House Residential Home

Updated 20 May 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Swillbrook House Residential Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Swillbrook House Residential Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. There was a manager in post who was completing the process to become registered with the CQC.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 10 May 2022 and ended on 12 May 2022. We visited the location’s office on 11 May 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service about their experience of the care provided, in addition we spoke with two relatives. We spoke with seven members of staff including the provider, nominated individual, manager, care workers, the chef and housekeeping staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Updated 20 May 2022

About the service

Swillbrook House Residential Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up 23 people. The service provides support to people who may be living with dementia and/or a disability. At the time of our inspection there were 15 people using the service

Swillbrook House is a large country house in Bartle on the outskirts of Preston. The home has a car park and landscaped gardens. Bedrooms are over two floors with a small lift providing access to the upper floor.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they felt safe and they were supported by staff who helped them quickly if they needed this. One person commented, “I love it, it’s my home. I feel safe here yes I do.” A further person said, “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” Checks were completed to help ensure prospective staff were suitable to work with people who may be vulnerable and staff had completed training to support their skills and knowledge. Risk assessments were carried out to help minimise the risk of avoidable harm and staff knew the help and support people needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were cared for in a safe, clean and homely environment by staff who were caring and knew people’s need and wishes. Medicines were managed safely, and care records contained person centred information to guide staff on the care and support people had agreed to.

People were consulted and asked their views on the service provided. Checks and audits were carried out to identify what had gone well, or if improvements were required. Action was taken to improve the service if this was required. People told us they were happy at the home and were confident any comments or complaints they made would be listened to. One person commented, “I haven’t got any complaints.” Staff told us they felt supported by the manager and nominated individual and they were able to approach them if they needed support and guidance.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 07 July 2021).

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider implemented best practice in relation to the safe management of medicines, the management of individual risk and recording of recruitment information. At this inspection we found the provider had sought best practice information and improvements had been made. Medicines were managed safely, individual risk was consistently assessed, and recruitment information was complete and well documented.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 05 and 18 May 2021. We made recommendations to support improvement.

We undertook this focused inspection to check improvements had been made. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Swillbrook House Residential Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.